My attempt to chronicle the life of your typical 20-something. From love, to work, to that ever-present "Who am I and what the hell am I doing here" in the back of your head, we're going to tackle it all!

02/10/2011

Why 20-somethings have Trouble Finding Jobs

I need to preface this by saying that these thoughts are solely my own, and reflect my own personal experiences and may not be true universally.

If you read the newspaper, or turn on CNN even while flipping channels looking for the new episode of the The Real Housewives of Atlanta, you know that the economy today has gone to shit. Sure, you read about bank execs being laid off and all the foreclosures occurring across the country, but there's one demographic that gets overlooked. Generation Y. The twenty-somethings.

I graduated with a degree in economics from one of the top 25 schools in the country. Surely, that's a credential that should open many office doors. I was lucky, landed a job right out of school, then was laid off when the company I worked for down-sized. As the youngest and most inexperienced, I was the first to go.

Ever since, I've had a horrible time finding work. I was given a tip through a friend that a large bank here in Charlotte was hiring an entry-level person with a background in economics, so I submitted my resume and hoped for the best. I got an email response back saying "Sorry, we're looking for someone with more of a research background in economics." Let me point out that as an undergraduate student at Chapel Hill, you don't get research experience. I'm not sure if that's universal for all colleges and universities, but it struck me as an unreasonable qualification to look for in an entry level employee. I emailed them back, saying "Undergraduates don't tend to get research opportunities, so it seems like you're looking for someone with an advanced degree who is willing work for an entry-level salary." They're response? "Basically, yes, and in this economy we have dozens of applicants with MAs or Doctorates clammering for this job."

Problem number one for twenty-somethings. In addition to competing against each other for entry-level jobs, we now must face-off against individuals with higher degrees, who in my opinion are over-qualified for these positions, for the same job and pay.

If like me, you then become almost desperate for employment. Your thoughts turn to hourly jobs. And if, like me, you apply for a number of these positions, you probably will also be turned down. The reason? You're too smart for your own good. Why would a company hire a college graduate for an hourly wage when they could easily hire someone with less education who will work for a lesser rate? Sure, it makes good economic sense from the companies point of view, but where does that leave me and my fellow unemployed grads?

Here, on the couch, watching Law and Order reruns. Keep in mind, there's approximately 80,000 episodes of this show, and it's just sad when you realize you're watching a rerun for the third time.

Much is being done in this country to help people who have been laid-off, but they have been geared towards an older, more experienced crowd. There seems to be no place for the twenty-three year old with a BA or BS who hasn't even been given the chance to earn the necessary work experience needed to land a job.

So where do we go from here? Back to school, so we can come back to the real world and land that entry-level job? That seems like the best option, sadly.